TE AWAMUTU.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2668, 23 July 1891, Page 2

TE AWAMUTU.

Hand of Hoi-k.— Tho usu-d monthly meeting nf the To Awaiuutu lLii'l of Hope was hold in tho We.-leyan Chutch last I'nday night. Despite the. wet. weather there w.s a crowded lioti-e, if such an exi)res-ion cm be used in reference In a church, and all present sH>in.;rl to <'njny tin; (,'.>,>,] proforihrui, and looked :is if Ihoy coiHdcircil it liail been well worth riskiiiK a wulliiif,' t> huur. I w.k very plc.vod to son th.;ir worthy presiilctit, the I lev Al- McDiniahl, abli- to takfi the chair, i ,«lioha.sla!.-lvb,.,.iil;,id up with a very sore tliro.a. The Ch-iirm.iu openu-l with » fdw w.:1I-cIioslmi pithy ivui.uk-, iifttM- which thi! choir cire a sacivd selection in their usual u'o.id st.yl'.:. and r then followed" in q"iel: si.cv-i"ii, b-iiit,'fdl well .'ii.'iinml showiiis! llm childivn pivnarn tli.-ir"nio!;i>s lhoi-.,nu'hlv. Tlr- «i'u:ral p.>rf<,rn,ei- weie Mi.s-s l/i.n.l M. Mdhr, Miss Chaltnors, Mias V. M.indouo, .Mis- Kirk. and Messrs Howard, MolNwiiy and Kiplny. The latter KCUtleinan'.s llinuy fiiemls wore p'eased to si-e him ont:n more Kiw.itr readiiip.s at tlirse Riitert-iimnunts, and llio way bo rendered this one slvnve.l that his hand, or rathnr his voiee, limil not lost its uncivil onnniriK. Miss .1. .Millur and M.s Kirk sans a sacred rbu't vpry s.v«i--tly. Dnriiif? tlie'iivciiiiis? the ine.inhurs wi?rn cnrci t.iini'ri bv a vciy instructive sp.-rch from tli.-ir old friend, the Rev. Mr Mickli'.john, who h•«<] come over from R'l-lan to wu how th.'y wf re prozressinn. The Chan-nun broiiirht nmler their notice Ui- Licensing Bill, which Mr Joyce was i<iidna-.-o'.irim,' to pass through the 'Iloiise. Thi! feature of this uicasnr;', which met with their approval, was that it rendered it. p.-nal to supply liqu.ir to children under l.'i years of use. The meetiiur uminiin.insly approvrd of the Iliil, mid thii i'ri'sideiit "'.is authoiisud lo join with the Kihikihi Baud of Hope in tiiioßrapliius to Mr Uryce to show this reso. tntioii to the House. A hymn and the benediction brought an instiuctive evening to a close. Uhl-iioii Skkvicks. —'the li.ev. John llasjldou, Hie Diosw.san missionary, arrived hnro by Saturday's train, and held pnrvice in Sti John's Church on Sunday. The attendance was good, the choir was much hotter than usual, and the whole service was very bright and hearty, Tn the afternoon he held service in the llaiiKiaohi.i Uhiuch, and in the evening at Kilnkihi. before going to the afternoon nervier he ollii.-i.itid at tho burial service of Mrs Kickit. ThelaU.u- lady, who was the mother of Mr Itickit, oim of our local builders, and also of Mrs J \\. Teasdale, died on Situiday inoi-nii!g. (iieat synipathy is felt all round this district for the monitors, of tho family in their bereave Lkutuhk.—On Monday evening Mr Haselden -'.ivc. his instructive lecture in the I'ublic Hill on "The History of the Church in the. Colony, , ' illustrated by about fifty lime liirht views. There was a fair and very appreciativu audience, the procoeds being divided between the Home Mission Society and St. .John's Church. Nearly all present had pleisant reeoll"<;i ions ot his former lecture of Knelish Church history, but all seemed to agree that they liked this even better, on account no doubt of its bi'im: of such n local character, lie be.fan with a view of the landing ot the R«v. Samuel Marsden at Whangaroa, in LSI-!, and thence with a graphic description of the ups. and downs of the early missionaries to the inure settled times, lie showed views of the early mission stations at Russell, Kaitain, Waimate, Hangiriri, and uthei places, and then views of the same at the present day. lie eulogiso.) the work ilono by the Revs. Henry and William Williain.s and Maunsell, Bishops Selwyn, ltatliuld and Patterson, and Messrs Kinsr, Davis an-i the other old members of the Chili ch Missionary Society, who laboured long and lite in their arduous work of •;pruadin" Christianity among the Maoris, and translating the Bible nnd I'rayer I'.uok into the nalivo. lai)Rii:ißn. What made (Jvj work harder was the evil iidlnnnco on the natives of tho many whalers and dillernnl rill' i-iilf that infested Hussell in the cnily days, lie also showed how unfounded was the aspersion one often hears cast on tho missionary tamilios that they told tho, natives to look up to Heavtn, and while they were doing »" tll,: " ,cu " f Llui K" s !" !l nunoxeil the best part of their 1-iiid. The lecturer showed how these men paid twice over tho real value of the land which they bought, and all of it was honestly purchased and actually paid for out of their private, means at dilferent times under the. Acts then in force rel.itive to laud purchases. He showed views of many of the different Chui'ches scattered over the province, giving a vivid picture in iy instances of the rough times the country elei-nymen have in travelling about to hold their'threo. services in one day, with fearful roads and swollen rivers. Altogether tbo lecture was very instructive, and entertaining, and sent one home with the feeling that we who have a Church nearly next door should bo very thankful for such a blessing when we think of the poor dwellers in the bushes up north who see a clergyman about once in six lronlhs. Mr Haselden also amused the children, including some pretty old ones, with a few comic pictures, and wound up with a beautiful set of views illustrating Tennyson's touching poem of Knoch Arden. Ho had not time to recite the whole poem, but the few lines he gave here and there a, the dilferent pictures were shown on tho canvas showed what an extra treat that would have been. He says ho finds his lantern a great help to him in his missionary work,and always gives exhibitions in the different country places, combining instruction with a recreation that must involve and elevate the minds of tI U who aio privileged to boo them.